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7 tips for writing effective alt text

1. If you’re including words that matter, make sure they’re text, not part of an image.
2. If images matter, make sure they have alt text.
3. Caption your videos (and describe key visuals that aren’t obvious from the dialogue).
4. Keep it short. Describe what’s essential—not every detail. What would someone need to know if they couldn’t see it?
5. Don’t say “image of.” Screen readers already know it’s an image.
6. If an image is decorative and adds no value? Leave the alt text empty. (Yes, that’s okay, not everything needs a description.)
7. Focus on purpose, not aesthetics. Alt text should sound natural, clear, and human.

Examples of bad vs. good alt text

Example: Diagram of a workflow

• Bad: “Image of a flowchart with boxes and arrows.”
• Good: “A workflow showing the three steps for submitting an expense report, including: 1. Upload receipts. 2. Submit spreadsheet with totals. 3. Update quarterly budget.”

Example: Photo of people collaborating

• Bad: “Group of four people sitting at a table smiling.”
• Good: “Team members collaborating during a project planning session.”

Example: A chart showing a sales increase

• Bad: “Bar chart with blue and green bars representing quarterly growth.”
• Good: “Our Q1 and Q2 sales comparative chart shows Q1 sales at $1,000,000 and Q2 sales at $1,200,000 for a sales increase of 20% from Q1 to Q2.”

Bottom line

If an image helps your learners understand something, be sure to describe what they need to know from that image clearly, simply, and with any specific detail needed to have a full understanding.

Don’t forget videos…

If anything is show in a video that isn’t read aloud, learners may be missing out on that information or context. Just as with alt tags, if you’re showing something important, be sure to describe it.

For a video, this means having the narrator or speaker read out any important information that’s on screen, which then ensures it’s in captions and transcripts for easy readability.

Follow these tips and other accessibility best practices to help every learner engage with your course content.

The post A guide for writing effective alt text for learning content appeared first on Say Yeah!.

Here’s the 6-Step Quick-Start Guide to Designing for Learner Choice to help you get there.

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Can learners access key information in more than one way?

Offer text, audio, visuals, and captions so all learners can best perceive essential content.

Is your course easy to navigate?

Provide clear navigation, structure, headings, jump-ahead options, and replay capabilities.

Can learners control pace and flow?

Chunk content, allow pause, replay, and skip functionality, and don’t set arbitrary time limits.

Are you offering flexibility in how learners consume content?

Let learners read, listen, watch, or do — choice drives access and engagement.

Do learners have multiple ways to explore the topic?

Include varied means of engagement such as scenarios, discussions, reflections, and practice activities.

Are you supporting different ways of processing complex ideas?

Break down dense information with an effective mix of narration, visuals, examples, and summaries.

Go deeper with The learner-focused 6-step cognitive load checklist.

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When your course feels heavy, overwhelming, or hard to finish, cognitive load may be the culprit.

Here’s a quick checklist to help lighten that load so learners stay engaged and actually absorb what you’re teaching.

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Chunk your content

Break big topics into smaller, bite-sized sections. Think “one idea per screen” or “one task at a time.”

Sequence logically

Build a clear path: what should learners understand first, next, and last? Avoid jumping around or assuming learners can connect all the dots on their own.

Optimize prior knowledge

If learners need background info, provide it first — or at least activate what they already know before diving in.

Minimize distractions

Remove unnecessary visuals, animations, or awkward interface elements that pull attention away from core learning.

Use modelling or step-by-step examples

Use demonstrations and worked examples to reduce guesswork and help learners focus on what matters.

Use multimedia wisely

Complement visuals, text, and audio — but avoid overloading.

Don’t just duplicate content across modalities in a way that forces learners to review the material without consideration of how each modality can best be used to support the content; let each format support learning in its own way.

Pro tip

Sometimes as experts, we’re blind to cognitive load — we forget what it’s like to not know.

Step back and ask:

What’s essential here?

Where might someone new to the topic struggle to keep up?

Use this checklist as a quick review anytime you’re preparing or revising a course.

Remember: reducing cognitive load isn’t about simplifying your content — it’s about making the content work for learners rather than making learners work harder to unpack the content.

Dig deeper into cognitive load and dual coding theory

If you’d like to dig deeper into the learning science related to both the cognitive load and dual coding theories, I encourage you to follow Dr Nidhi Sachdeva, who demonstrated these best practices at this year’s Canadian eLearning Conference.

You can also subscribe to the latest learning + technology insights from me, Say Yeah CEO, Lee Dale.

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The post The learner-focused 6-step cognitive load checklist appeared first on Say Yeah!.

Learning and development is a key part of growing a business, but in order to be effective, and to earn buy-in from organizational leadership, it must be strategically aligned with larger business goals. The fall TICE event offers learning professionals opportunities to connect and collaborate with industry peers as they explore ways to build an effective learning strategy that drives growth and team performance.

Factors like budgeting, needs analysis, and stakeholder communications will be explored, as well as tactics like analytics, well-defined learning outcomes, tech integration, and continuous improvement–all of which can help to ensure the sustainability and longevity of an L&D strategy. 

As eLearning pros passionate about helping organizations turn training into their competitive advantage, we’re eager to connect with learning leaders and exchange insights on how best practices in tech + education can help enable their L&D strategies.

What to look forward to at the Fall Training Industry Conference & Expo (TICE)

This two-day virtual conference will feature exciting talks from 20 learning and development leaders across industries like healthcare, hospitality, technology, retail, and more. You can look forward to insights on topics like data analysis, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), and design thinking.

For example:

• Your Guide to Aligning Your Training Programs with Business Goals with Amy DuVernet
• When Design Thinking Meets Change Management You Find the Sweet Spot with Jackie Corbett
• Building a Learning Analytics Program to Support Your L&D Strategy with Christopher Massaro
• Aligning Technology to Support the Learning Strategy with Kim Davis

Register today!

Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to explore tactics to ensure L&D has a seat at your organization’s decision-making table. Get tickets for access to live and on-demand sessions for $99 USD.

Save your seat.

Ready to take your L&D strategy to the next level? We’d love to connect!

At Say Yeah, we’re committed to executing eLearning programs that bring your learning and development strategies to life in ways that drive organizational outcomes and enhance workplace performance. 

Get in touch with us to exchange insights on how to boost your L&D strategy with tech + education tactics.

Get in touch

The post Fall Training Industry Conference & Expo (TICE), September 27–28, 2023 appeared first on Say Yeah!.

The annual TechLearn 2023 Conference presents an excellent opportunity for learning and development professionals to unpack workplace performance strategies that capitalize on the latest learning research and technologies.

Working at the intersection of tech + education to build effective and engaging online courses, we appreciate conversations that explore how these elements combine to produce accessible training programs that impact organizational growth.

What you can expect at the TechLearn 2023 Conference

Starting September 19, the three-day conference will highlight topics like AI, design, implementation, evaluation, assessment, eLearning, adaptive learning, virtual classrooms, VR, and more. Beyond networking opportunities and engaging sessions, the conference also promises: 

• 3 exciting New Orleans tourist adventures,
• 4 pre-conference certificate programs, and 
• 56 breakout sessions. 

Catch these exciting sessions:

• Opportunities and Limitations of AI in the Workplace with Dr. Vivienne Ming
• Design With, Not For with Ann Yoachim
• The Seeds of Virtual Training: Growing Attendee Engagement Online with John Chen
• Hybrid Flexible Learning: What, Why, and How This Impacts Business with Liana Griffin
• How to Prepare Your Company for New Technologies with Debbie Richards

Check out the full conference schedule here.

Want to get more updates from us in the future?

Join our email list for more insights from the tech + education space.

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The post Training Magazine’s TechLearn 2023 Conference, September 19–21, 2023 appeared first on Say Yeah!.

Starting on June 7, this two-day virtual conference will highlight how proven marketing practices might be leveraged by those in the learning and development industry.

As tech + education professionals who develop online learning programs, we particularly appreciate how the intersection of industries can produce valuable insights, tools, and best practices to take learning to the next level.

Catch these exciting talks!

• What Can L&D Learn from Marketing? with Lynne McNamee
• Cohort Learning Challenges: Meeting the Engagement Needs of Hybrid Workers with Adam Weisblatt
• How to Create Emotionally Engaging Learning Journeys with Mingming Jiang

Check out the full lineup and conference program

Save your seat

Tickets to the Learning & Marketing Online Conference start from $395 USD, with group and organizational discounts available.

Register today

Looking to improve your employee training program?

With our approach to building flexible, responsive, and accessible eLearning programs, we can help you to increase reach, drive engagement, and uncover new growth opportunities.

Get in touch

The post Learning & Marketing Online Conference June 7-8, 2023 appeared first on Say Yeah!.